Progress on EFA

I decided. I decided that instead of lurking for the EFA KAL, I'll knit another EFA out of the gorgeous Misty Rowan Magpie that I bought from a fellow Knitter's Review member. This will make the 3rd time for me. I made 2 when the pattern first came out in Vogue Knitting Fall 1992 (pattern is still available here - scroll down - and here). "Knit Fix" by Lisa Kartus is supposed to have a revised version of the pattern but I personally have not seen it.
The 1st one was of ecru Candide by Reynolds. It was lovely. I gave it to my SIL's sister, whose DH was out of work for a while and thus needed it more than I did. In Los Angeles, it's all the coat she needs for the winter. The 2nd I made of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Sandy Heather; I lengthened it by adding 1 1/2" of moss stitch at the armhole (I discovered this when I found my knitting notes from so long ago).
At first I thought I'd knit v3.0 at 5 sts/in to decrease the final width from 58" by 10% to a bit less than 53" but no, I cannot get 5 sts/in with Magpie unless I go down to a size 6 needle, and that's decidedly uncomfortable. Instead, I'll keep it at 4.5 sts/in (on a 7), and take out more at the armholes, moving the clouds so they are still there.
Cast-on: I used one I've never used before, the guernsey cast-on that I found in my "Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book". It looks a little like the Channel Islands cast-on but is much easier to do, and is nice and stretchy. The pattern calls for starting with the left front, casting on 75 sts on a size 5 needle, doing 1x1 rib for 1 1/2", then decreasing to 63 sts and changing to a size 9 needle. I have only 10 balls of Magpie and don't want to run out, plus I don't want the bottom to pull in so much, I want it more flat like a jacket. So I casted on 65 sts (2 are selvedge sts) on size 7 needles and ribbed as required. The ribbing still pulls in a bit, but that's OK.
Pocket placement: I want to put side-seam pocket on this, those I may knit out of a finer yarn at a firm gauge so my stuff doesn't fall out. We'll see.